Game 71 of 162
Cardinals 8 Mets 7 (Citi Field, Flushing, NY)
Mets record: 33-38
Mets streak: Lost 2
WP – Drew Verhagen (4-0)
LP – Adam Ottavino (0-3)
Save - Jordan Hicks ( 2 )
Seat on the Korner
We select the star of the game and virtually invite him to a Seat on the Korner, just as Ralph Kiner used to do for his studio postgame show on WOR-channel 9 broadcasts in the early decades of the Mets.
Arenado was 2-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI. He hit a two-run home run in the 1st inning off Carlos Carrasco and the Cardinals never trailed. He then broke a 7-7 tie with a solo shot off Adam Ottavino in the 9th inning.
Need to Know
*The Mets continued to sink to new depths, dropping 2 of 3 to the Cardinals, the National League’s bottom feeder this season.
*The Cardinals had lost 6 in a row, including 6-1 to the Mets on Friday, before winning the final two games of this series. It was the first series win for the Cardinals since they took 3 of 4 from the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 18-21.
*The Mets have lost 11 of their past 14 games, many in excruciating fashion. They did so again Sunday when Ottavino served up a game-deciding home run in the top of the 9th inning to Arenado.
*Ottavino has allowed five home runs in 28.1 innings. He surrendered six home runs in 65.2 innings last season.
*Francisco Alvarez was 0-for-4. He is 2 for his last 20 and his average is down to .231.
Turning Point
Arenado’s one-out home run to left off Ottavino in the top of the 9th inning snapped a 7-7 tie and lifted the Cardinals to the series win.
3 Keys
Just 11 days after being drilled on the left wrist by a Charlie Morton pitch in Atlanta, Pete Alonso was activated off the IL and inserted into the starting lineup. There was no magic in his bat, though, as a rusty Alonso was 0-for-4 and struck out three times. To make room on the roster for Alonso, the Mets optioned Mark Vientos back to triple-A Syracuse. Vientos played sparingly during his recall and slashed a meager .178/.225/.244 with a .469 OPS, one home run and 5 RBI in 49 plate appearances.
Carrasco started and lasted a season-low three innings for the Mets. He surrendered six runs (five earned), five hits and two home runs, while striking out four and walking three. His rough afternoon began right away in the 1st inning when lead off hitter Brendan Donovan doubled to left and two batters later Arenado blasted a two-run homer. He also allowed a two-run double in the second to Paul Goldschmidt and a solo bomb to Paul Dejong in the third. Carrasco has allowed 10 home runs in 44 innings this season and five runs or more in four of his nine starts. His ERA now stands at a bloated 6.34 this season.
The Mets fought from behind all afternoon but after they finally pulled even in the 5th inning, their offense completely dried up. They trailed 2-0 in the 1st, and got a run back on Francisco Lindor’s home run in the bottom of the inning. They trailed 5-1 in the second and got to 5-4 on an Eduardo Escobar RBI triple and a two-run Brandon Nimmo double. The Cardinals pushed their lead to 6-4 in the 3rd and the Mets got one run back in the 4th. Again, the Cardinals answered with a run in the 5th but a two-out, two-run home run by Tommy Pham tied the game 7-7 in the bottom of the 5th inning. The Mets did not have another hit until Nimmo singled with one out in the 9th inning. He was erased on Starling Marte’s game-ending double play grounder.
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